Gaby Hauptmann, Hera Lind, Nicola Förg and Peter Prange tell here which books moved them and which works changed their life.
The tears flow not only with the savings account: here the bestselling authors Gaby Hauptmann (64, “Our very best time”), Hera Lind (63, “Grenzgängerin aus Liebe”), Nicola Förg (58, “Hintertristerweiher”) and Peter Prange (66 , “The Dream Palace”), which books moved her and which works changed her life.
Which book has changed or greatly influenced your life?
Gaby Hauptmann: “The Struwwelliese” by Charly Greifoner and Cilly Schmitt-Teichmann (confirmed to me as a five year old that I was on the right track)
Hera Lind: “With the next man everything will be different” by Eva Heller. First of all, I was already magically attracted to the title at the time, and secondly, while reading, I made me want to write myself.
Nicola Förg: I can’t say that across the board. Books shaped different phases of my life: The “Britta” series by Lisbeth Pahnke as a child, I really wanted to emigrate to Sweden, everything seemed to be better there. Paul Celan’s poems between 18 and 25, where one is easily shaky, also Hölderlin “An die Parzen” fits in with it. I then went through a long “inspector jury” phase and Martha Grimes certainly shaped my path to becoming a crime writer. More recently, Jón Kalman Stefánsson’s novel “Fish Have No Legs” – such a poetic language is art.
Peter Prange: I’m embarrassed, but it’s the truth: “Seven Ways to Failure”, written by myself, a guide to personal development. In it I put forward theses such as “You should only do the things you do with a passionate heart” and “Life is too short to waste it on making money.” As I wrote, I realized that I was preaching wine, but drinking water – back then I was a management consultant and wasted my life with exactly what I warned others about: making money. Instead of writing the novel with a passionate heart, for which I had the basic idea for years. So I took a year off and wrote down the story: “The Amber Amulet” – my first novel. That’s how I became a writer. Financially a very stupid decision. And yet the smartest decision of my life.
Which book did you cry at?
Captain: “Fate is a lousy traitor” by John Green (cried on behalf of everyone who has to die of cancer)
Lind: In the factual novel “Hell was the price”. It describes the three and a half years of the Hoheneck women’s penitentiary that a woman from Hamburg had to spend there as a young woman. After that I saw the world with different eyes.
Förg: For many, but “Dick and Dalli and the ponies” is still guaranteed today. 12. Chapter “Stable guard”, when the seriously injured colt Sarotti fights for his life. And it gets most water-intensive when the foal has made it!
Prange: With my savings account. Please no further questions.
Which book made you laugh?
Hauptmann: “Look for an impotent man for life” – already while writing!
Lind: All books by Joachim Meyerhoff, and recently the trilogy by Karsten Dusse. These men can just write!
Förg: Not so much these supposed guarantees of laughter. But stories from Herbert Rosendorfer make you smile, my favorite is “The move to Munich”, that wonderfully described chaos in the Jenesien cable car. Also wonderful are “Worpswede” and “Two days in Innsbruck”, this divine description of the giant circular painting! And I love Midas Dekkers’ “Von Larvae und Puppen” – evil subtle humor!
Prange: “The Rosie Project,” by Graeme Simsion. An Asperger’s specialist who suffers from Asperger’s himself. And not even notice it. Weird to roar. And at the same time deeply touching.
What three books should everyone have read in their life?
Hauptmann: “Two old women” by Velma Wallis (after that you feel a bit ashamed of your own self-indignity); “Die Weber” by Gerhart Hauptmann (this book about the weaver revolt of 1844 was a glimpse into our present – in many parts of the world); “The Blue Wonder” by Frauke Bagusche (wonderful insights into a mysterious world and at the same time the question of whether mankind still has all the cups in the cupboard)
Lind: I don’t dare say that. There are so many good books out there, and tastes vary.
Förg: Paul Bowles’ “Heaven over the Desert”, because you have to learn that neither flight nor decadence helps – you always have yourself with you; “The Hotel New Hampshire” because the art of storytelling is unmatched by John Irving; Astrid Lindgren’s “Holidays on Saltkrokan”, because every book bucket list should have at least one book by the great Swede, whose books are much more than books for young people!
Prange: “The Bible”. The book of books contains all literary genres, from epic to parable to love poetry. Also the first historical novel in human history. The exposition alone: The creation of the world in seven days. And then a man and a woman bite into an apple, and then nothing is as it was before; Thomas Mann, “Buddenbrooks”. In my opinion the best novel ever written. Goethe, “Faust 1”. The German soul as it lives and breathes. Still. Because immortalized in immortal verse.
How has the corona pandemic affected your work?
Hauptmann: As with previous books, I couldn’t go on research trips. Since my current book is set in Stuttgart, thankfully it wasn’t a drama. If in doubt, I could ask my sister and niece, who live in Stuttgart. Otherwise: not at all.
Lind: Very positive! During this time I wrote three factual novels and in the face of these fates felt great gratitude and freedom.
Förg: If there is a lack of input from outside – no restaurant visits, no discussions with friends, no readings and reading trips – you look inward more. Like many others, I started to tidy up my office, fell over old documents and photos of my parents, got stuck and – as I had often before – felt that I had asked far too few questions. That it is too late, two little words that make a fatal combination. That was the initial spark for “Hintertristerweiher”, a novel that spans 80 years and tells of the love and tragedies of the protagonists and of the unsaid between the generations. In this respect, the novel is also a bit of a lockdown book, because there was a lot of time and leisure in autumn and winter for such a project.
Prange: Aside from the fact that around fifty events were canceled, hardly any. As an author, I’m used to working under quarantine conditions.
To the authors
Gaby Hauptmann became known for bestsellers such as “Search for impotent men for life”, “Only a dead man is a good man” or “The lie in bed”. In her current book “Our very best time” she sends the main character Katja on an emotional, adventurous journey into the past. The new novel “Our very special moment” will be published in early 2022.
Hera Lind celebrates great success with her factual novels after she became famous with “A man for every key” and “Das Superweib”. Her new book “With my back to the wall” will be published on December 13th.
Nicola Förg is known for her Kommissar Weinzirl series and the Kommissarin Mangold series. In her new novel, the bestselling author shows herself from a new perspective: “Hintertristerweiher” spans eighty years, leads to the French Atlantic coast, to Ochsenfurt am Main, Munich and a fictional pond in the Western Allgäu. He brings the lives of three very different people together.
Peter Prange, author of “Our wonderful years”, among others, has just published a new book called “Der Traumpalast”. It takes place in Berlin in the 1920s: Tino, banker and bon vivant, takes a stake in Ufa and plans to stand up to Hollywood with spectacular big films and glittering cinema palaces. As a young journalist, Rahel wants to go ways that were previously closed to women. When the two meet, they have no idea what turn this will take their lives …